Ayushmann Khurrana: After HAWAIZAADA Shivkar Bapuji Talpade will be known by my face

January 29, 2015 7:06:19 PM ISTBy Rachana Sheth, Glamsham Editorial

HAWAIZAADA is about to hit the screens and Ayushmann Khurrana is all the more anxious! As we settled down for a quick chat, Ayushmann talked about his first unconventional hero-centric film, where he essays the role of Shivkar Bapuji Talpade, who was a brilliant scientist in late 18th century and made the first plane in the world.

On doing an unusual film HAWAIZAADAThe best part about this film is that the guy (Shivkar Bapuji Talpade) who made the first plane was an Indian. That itself intrigues everybody because nobody knows about this person. It's an untold story of an unsung hero, so it needs to be told. We will get enlightened about Shivkar Talpade through this film.

The character of Shivkar ji is very inspiring and motivational. We are talking about 18th century, that was an age of inventions and discoveries every year, every month, and at the same time there's a guy who tells you that he wants to make a plane…Though it's not patent, there is no proof behind it but there are lot of articles. Probably, India was under colonial rule so he could not patent it. But even if it's a conspiracy theory it was a fodder enough to make a good film.

The prime reason of doing this film is the script and passion of the director Vibhu Puri. He has the potential to become one of the best directors of the country. He is a punjabi guy who's got superb command over language, especially Urdu. He has co-written many Sanjay Leela Bhansali films. So, his sense of craft and detailing is similar to SLB. Of course you will experience it while watching the film.

Finalized HAWAIZAADA after VICKY DONORI met Vibhu two years back. I met him after the release of VICKY DONOR that was the time when he told me about HAWAIZAADA and Shivkar Bapuji Talpade. I was surprised and I at once researched about him and discovered that there is not much written about him. You may find something written about his inventions but there's not much written about his family life, his character. So in a way Vibhu got the creative liberty to build a beautiful world around this character.

A challenge to prepare without enough materialIt was a challenge that we cannot go wrong with the character. I think it was a bigger responsibility because this man is a national hero which nobody recognized. You have a reference for Gandhi or Milkha Singh but there's no reference about him. But after this film, Shivkar Bapuji Talpade will be known by my face. Having said that it's also a creative liberty for the director to establish or make it more interesting, more colourful.

From North Indian Urban dude to a Maharashtrian guyIt was difficult for me to play a Maharashtrian guy and I won't lie because till now I was playing quintessential north Indian urban guy. I had to be more regional this time around. I have been living here from six years but I could never speak, although my staff is Marathi. So, for last year and a half I had asked my team to speak with me in Marathi. With this exercise I started understanding the language completely. I could technically speak. Further, even the co-writer of the film is Maharashtrian so he helped me to get the accent right.

The film has Vedic referencesBesides the scientific references, there are lots of Vedic references in the film. We have quoted Vedic shlokas and Hanuman Chalisa in the film. I think there are so many quaint references in HAWAIZAADA which we normally don't see in today's films. We don't get to hear such dialogues, so it's beautiful.